Substantial remains lay derelict until they were demolished in the early 2000s to make way for Shoreditch High Street railway station which now stands on part of the site.

To the west of the site the discovery of Mesolithic struck flint suggested occupation of the banks of the River Walpole.

[1] When initially surveyed in 1834 the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) considered a number of sites before settling on Shoreditch.

A major reason for selecting the Shoreditch site was it was close to the financial district and land at that location was relatively cheap.

As the railways expanded, further platforms were added on the north/west side of the complex notably for the introduction of the North Woolwich services.

There were a number of goods facilities on the approach to the station and over the years these expanded and stretched back to Bethnal Green.

Locomotives could be turned, coaled and watered just outside the station or would run back to the nearest engine shed at Stratford.

A full description dated 1844 in The Builder magazine stated: "The stone-faced exterior of the station was a well composed Italianate design.

The concourse was flanked on the north and south sides by long two-storeyed ranges, terminated at the west end, and probably at the east, by boldly projecting pavilions crowned with attic storeys.

Before the west front was a semi-circular court or area, partly enclosed by the ramped approach roads leading from the street to the raised concourse.

The two-storeyed north front was fairly simple in expression, with a triangular pediment to mark the position of the booking-hall entrance".The station was opened with the name Shoreditch (or London[6]) on 1 July 1840 to serve as its new permanent terminus when the railway was extended westwards from an earlier temporary terminus at Devonshire Street, near Mile End.

When the station opened it was not completed and work continued on the site for many years although this is partly attributable to the fact railways grew in popularity.

The station was renamed Bishopsgate on 27 July 1846[6] with the intention of drawing more City commuters by naming it after the major thoroughfare in the heart of the financial district.

The turntable had been enlarged reflecting that larger more powerful locomotives were operating the services, and the station buildings were also extended at this time.

The GER did extend the northside of the viaduct approaching Bishopsgate which saw the N&ER Brick Lane goods depot (see below) demolished.

When the station opened on services were run by the Eastern Counties Railway to Romford there were 11 weekday ECR trains to Brentwood.

This arrangement lasted until 1858 when the LT&SR opened a more direct route avoiding an increasingly busy Stratford station.

The London & Blackwall Railway charged for each train using Fenchurch Street and a dispute lasting until 1857 saw some Loughton line services using Bishopsgate for a period.

[12] By the 1860s with the suburbs expanding and new lines being proposed the GER decided to build a new bigger terminus nearer the city at Liverpool Street.

As part of this project a new station called Bishopsgate (Low Level) was opened in 1872 and acted as a temporary terminus for suburban services from the Enfield (via Seven Sisters) and Walthamstow lines.

[13] An 1844 report for the ECR recommended staffing levels as:[14] Bishopsgate was extensively reconstructed by the Great Eastern Railway between 1878 and 1880 to convert it into a goods station.

By the 1950s the majority of trains serving Bishopsgate were transfer-freights from Temple Mills or Goodmayes yards, although direct services carrying goods from Europe operated from Parkeston Quay.

In addition, 12 aerial turntable platforms, two firehose-laying vehicles and two emergency tenders as well as 235 firefighters battled the fire which killed two customs officials, Mr Thomas S. Tanner aged 44 and Mr George Humphrey aged about 60, and destroyed hundreds of railway wagons, dozens of motor vehicles and millions of pounds worth of goods.

Following an extended period of planning, the entire site was demolished in 2003–04, with the exception of a number of Grade II listed structures: ornamental gates on Shoreditch High Street and the remaining 850 feet (260 m) of the so-called "Braithwaite Viaduct", one of the oldest railway structures in the world and the second-oldest in London.

It was located on the south side of the viaduct, and the granary was further extended taking over the goods depot site (above) and opening in October 1854.

[29] Opened in 1868 by the GER, this was located south and west of Bethnal Green station and its main feature was a curving brick viaduct carrying six lines.

Transfers to the East London Line stopped in the 1950s although the hoist was used to supply the ground-level sidings in the coal yard.